142
THE ESSEX NATURALIST.
formation was found, but the nature of the food would imply
that this species also has the habit of casting pellets.
In conclusion, I have to thank those of our Members, especially
Miss G. Lister, F.L.S., Miss A. Hibbert-Ware, F.L.S., Mr. Miller
Christy, F.L.S., Mr. W. E. Glegg, F.Z.S., Mr. J. E. Harting,
F.L.S., Mr. J. H. Owen and Mr. F. J. Stubbs, who have kindly
supplied me with specimens or with information on this subject.
NOTES ON THE GIZZARD CONTENTS OF BIRDS
COLLECTED BY MR. MILLER CHRISTY.
By ALICE HIBBERT-WARE, F.L.S.
[Read 25th November, 1922.]
EIGHTEEN months ago, Mr. Thompson asked me to
examine the gizzard contents of 50 species of birds that
were shot by Mr. Miller Christy, during the autumn, winter and
spring seasons, between the years 1876 and 1890. The food
substances had during all these years been preserved in card-
board boxes, labelled with the name, date and locality of the
birds from whose gizzards they had been removed. It was
my task to investigate the nature of these foods, in order either
to endorse the investigations of others or possibly here and
there to throw a little fresh light on the feeding habits of the
birds in question.
I trust that no apology is needed for the subject. To the
lover of birds, every detail connected with their lives must
have an interest, and nothing is too trivial to record. Besides,
certain birds are misunderstood, even maligned as to the nature
of their food, and they frequently pay the price of misunderstand-
ing with their lives. The cuckoo, for instance, that was sent to
me as a garden pest by an ignorant gardener, had in its gizzard
the remains of 57 hairy caterpillars. Had he seen them he
would surely have refrained from shooting cuckoos in future.
This, however, is not the side of the subject on which I mean
to dwell this afternoon. The point is, here are the gizzard con-
tents of 50 species of birds. Can such dry dust as this prove to
be in any way interesting? Mr. Christy's collection shows that
it can.
Here, for instance, in a box marked "kestrel," are pellets
taken from a chalkpit in Sussex in April 1879. Can you picture